Price for a Beer

3/25/15: Arizona Diamondbacks pitching prospect Archie Bradley got some tough news last week, learning that he is not going to start the season in the big leagues. He may get called up later one, who knows? However, General Manager Dave Stewart says that he is not ready for the majors, at least not yet. Bradley has been a consensus top-25 prospect for four straight years, though struggled at triple-A ball last season. That being said, he is only 22 and has time to develop. If he gets off to a good start, then he may get the call. And when he gets the call, he may not go back.

3/18/15: Sometimes it is good to sit on your roster and sometimes it is good to make a move. Diamondback fans may not like to hear this, but General Manager Dave Stewart says that he is not planning on trading for a catcher since Oscar Hernandez got injured and will miss a couple of months. That means that Tuffy Gosewich will be the starter when the season opens. The Diamondbacks are already playing catch-up to the rest of the National League West, so this can be frustrating. Then again, it may be better to play the long game here and let the players develop at their own pace rather than mortgage the future on a temporary problem.

3/11/15: The Arizona Diamondbacks have been getting some attention over the last week, though it is not due to their play on the field or compelling players on the roster. Instead, it is a new item to be served at Chase Field called the churro dog. This 1,100 calorie desert is a traditional cinnamon churro inside a 'bun' that is actually a split chocolate long john doughnut. It is topped with ice cream and fudge. It resembles a hot dog, but amazingly, is actually worse for the human body than a frankfurter. If nothing else, it is getting attention for the D'backs and may get some people to come out to the ball park to try it.

3/4/15: It does not look like the Arizona Diamondbacks are going to spend much time getting their new Cuban import, Yasmany Tomas, acquainted with baseball in the United States. Quite the opposite, really. He is expected to be their everyday third baseman this season. Of course, when you spend nearly $70 million on a guy, you want him playing as much as possible. He will also be working some in the outfield during spring training. The D'Backs want to get him "a lot of at-bats" this spring to really understand what they bought. The good news is that they have him for six years and he is only 24 right now.

2/25/15: The Arizona Diamondbacks just hit the jackpot. It is not with a overlooked prospect who turns into a superstar or landing a Cy Young winner in free agency. They may be flush with cash soon. The team is signing a billion dollar television deal with Fox Sports Arizona. The length of the contract has not been disclosed yet, but 15 to 20 years would be a reasonable expectation. The D'Backs currently make $31 million annually from television rights, so a $15 year deal would about triple that annual figure. So much for that whole baseball is dying conspiracy.

2/18/15: Current Arizona Diamondbacks head honcho, Tony LaRussa, innovated the game with his use of playing the odds. This was most notable on how he used relief pitchers. Rather than starters and closers, he employed a bullpen of specialists for late inning situations. Did it work? Just look at the rings on his fingers. The D'Backs may be making an offer to reliever Chad Gaudin. Gaudin missed the 2014 season with a neck injury but was very good in 2013 with the Giants, posting a 3.04 ERA over 97 innings. It is a low risk opportunity, and LaRussa has a history of making those work.

2/11/15: The Arizona Diamondbacks did something that no other team is believed to have done so far. They graduated prospects from their Latin America academy. Many teams have academies in Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic, but that is a loose term. They are baseball farms designed to develop baseball talent from the local youth. That is a fine goal, but the Diamondbacks went a step further in actually providing an education. So, when the D'Backs say they graduated, they mean it. Those young men earned the academic merits, which is a great thing for their futures. Hats off, Diamondbacks.

1/21/15: The Arizona Diamondbacks do not have a lot of hall of famers from their relative short history, but they got a new one with the election of pitcher Randy Johnson a few weeks ago. What is now known, though, is that Johnson's bust will have the Arizona Diamondbacks hat rather than a Seattle Mariners hat. The Big Unit won more games with the Mariners (130 vs. 118), but he did earn four of his five Cy Young Awards with Arizona, as well as win a World Series. So Seattle fans may be mad because Johnson gained his fame in the Pacific Northwest, but he saved his best pitching for the Arizona desert.

1/14/15: The Diamondbacks traded their starting catcher Miguel Montero last month, which would not be a huge deal on its own. Except for the fact that it left the team without much in terms of talent behind the plate with a combination of Tuffy Gosewisch and Oscar Hernandez. While Tuffy Gosewisch has an all-star name, he is 31 years old, played only 55 games in the majors and sports a .213/.225/.287 stat line - which is poor even by catcher's standards. In any case, Arizona has been asking around about catchers but the price is pretty steep. Perhaps they should have charged more for Montero.

12/3/14: Arizona is quietly the most active team in the MLB these days. While other teams ar making headlines while flirting with the top free agents - and fans do like to see that - the D'backs are actually making moves which they hope will lead to more wins - and fans REALLY like that. Over the past week, they traded pitcher Mike Bolsinger to the Dodgers for cash, traded pitcher Charles Brewer to the Indians for cash, and are talking to Marlins about trading Wade Miles (yes, you guessed it - he is a pitcher, too) to the Marlins. It looks like Bullpen Guru Tony LaRussa has his hands all over these deals. On top of that, the D'Backs signed Cuban import Yasmany Tomas, who is expected to be in left field.

10/22/14: Mark Grace is back with the Arizona Diamondbacks organization, again. The team is naming him as an assistant hitting coach. Grace made his mark in the league with the Chicago Cubs, where he spent most of his career. Of course, one cannot win a World Series with the Cubs, but he did get his ring with the D'backs at the end of his playing days. Since then, he has been around the organization in a number of roles including: broadcaster, spring training advisor, and minor league hitting instructor. He has a lot of baseball and life experience and hopefully that will rub off on the young Arizona hitters.

11/19/14: The Diamondbacks are looking to rebuild and rebound after a disastrous 2014 season. They have decent talent in places on the roster, enough that new top-man Tony LaRussa says he will be 'heartbroken' if the team is below .500 next season. Obviously, the pitching staff, particularly the rotation, needs a lot of help. They seem to have some interest in former Dodger Chad Billingsley, who has been classified as a 'person of interest', which sounds more like a criminal suspect than an acquisition target. It should be noted that new GM Dave Stewart was Billingsley's agent until he took the D'Backs job last month.

10/15/14: The speculation is now over. The Diamondbacks named a new manager, and Tony LaRussa is not getting the band back together. Arizona is going with first time manager Chip Hale. Hale served the last three years as a bench coach for the Oakland A's, and with the Mets before that. He was in the Diamondbacks organization for earlier in his career and also has managerial experience at the minor league level. Arizona has some talent on the roster, at least what Kevin Towers did not trade away, and should see a bounce back in performance next year if for no other reason than they will get some guys back from injury.

10/8/14: The speculation in Arizona is starting to build. New president of baseball operations, Tony LaRussa, already dismissed the GM (Kevin Towers) and manager (Kirk Gibson). He hired first timer Dave Stewart to be the new General Manager, so what will he do for the manager position? Many are speculating that LaRussa will hire former slugger Mark McGwire. LaRussa got him back in the game by making him the Cardinals hitting coach a few years ago. McGwire has no previous managing experience, but that has not stopped several teams from hiring recently retired players with no experience as managers.

10/1/14: The Arizona Diamondbacks fired General Manager Kevin Towers a few weeks ago, which was to be expected after a terrible season that was defined by major injuries to key players and the team not having the depth (thanks to several of Towers' misguided moves) to compensate. Arizona now has a new GM and it is none other than former pitching great Dave Stewart. Stewart played for some of the great Oakland A's teams of the late 80's and early 90's - those that were managed by Arizona chief Tony LaRussa. The D'backs also hired DeJon Watson away from the Dodgers for a key role.

9/24/14: The Diamondbacks are in shut down mode at this point in the season. As much as the great die-hard fans of the organization hate to see it, it is probably for the best. The team ended pitcher Oliver Perez' season last week. He had been suffering from the dreaded 'dead arm' which affects even the best of pitchers late in many seasons. Perez was actually pretty good this season, but it will do the team more good to let him rest and get ready for 2015 rather than fight through an arm issue and possibly hurt himself even more.

9/17/14: There is very little debate on where the Diamondbacks will finish the season, it will certainly be among the bottom teams - and that only matters for draft pick selections. It will not be where it matters, and that is in the postseason. But there is plenty of debate about where former GM Kevin Towers will end up. There was speculation that he could return to San Diego, but a spot that he could fill has been filled. So he may well be back with Arizona next year as some sort of special assistant for scouting. While he did not do a great job as GM, he still is excellent in the scouting side of the game, and Arizona could use that (after Towers traded away so many top prospects)./

8/28/14: There are a lot of conflicting reports coming out of the desert in recent days, and they all involve the future of manager Kirk Gibson. Initial reports said that Gibson's job was safe for next season, which would be pretty odd considering the team's performance this season. More recent reports quote new boss Tony LaRussa as saying that he is not guaranteed a job in 2015. That would seem to make more sense. The D'backs have a long way to go in rebuilding their organization - not just at the MLB level but also at the developmental level. LaRussa helped build the St. Louis Cardinals into an annual contender, so it may be wise to listen to him.

8/21/14: The Giants have had a nice bounce back season after being completely depressing in 2013. The pitching and hitting have returned and the team has battled the Dodgers admirably throughout the year. At this point, however, it looks like the Dodgers' deep pockets are winning the race for the NL West, leaving the Giants to scramble for a wild card spot. The addition of the second wild card spot has made the National League race very interesting. The Giants are battling teams like Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Atlanta, and even Miami for the right to get into a one game playoff to get into the real playoffs. If nothing else, it should be fascinating to watch them jockey for position over the next five weeks.

8/14/14: There are not a whole lot of highlights this season for the Diamondbacks, but they did manage to pull off a rare stolen home base. Against Colorado last week, rookie David Peralta was on third base. He noticed catcher Michael McKenry lazily lobbed the baseball back to pitcher Rex Brothers between pitches. Peralta took off for home and scored. Arizona ended up winning the game 5-3 and showed how the Rockies were checked out for the season. It was the first stolen home base for the Diamondbacks since 2007. Ironically, the Dbacks played the Rockies in the National League Championship Serires that season.

8/7/14: The Diamondbacks made an ill-advised trade in the offseason, sending their top lefty prospect (Tyler Skaggs) to the Angels for slugger Mark Trumbo. That created a tough hole to fill in the rotation, and the Dbacks have been paying for it all year. They are now trying to rebuild their roster. At the trade deadline, the team traded outfielder Gerardo Parra to Milwaukee for OF Mitch Haniger and lefty Anthony Banda. They also sent infielder Martin Prado to the Yankees for catcher Pete O'Brien and cash considerations or a player to be named later. Not the flashiest of moves, but moves designed to help out in the future.

7/31/14: Lost among Reds reliever Aroldis Chapman hitting an eye-popping 104 MPH and simply embarrassing Diamondback batters (to be fair, that would probably embarrass just about any batter), was that the Diamondbacks won a thriller of a game in 15 innings. It was a good night overall for the 12 pitchers used in the game, as most posted zeros in their frames. The Dbacks won when Nick Ahmed hit an RBI single in the top of the 15th inning and the Arizona bullpen was able to make that run hold up in the bottom of the frame for a 2-1 win.

7/24/14: There may not be too much to get excited about in Arizona this season. The team has struggled since day one and the roster has been demolished by major injuries to key players. But that did not stop one fan from trying to cause some excitement. He rushed on the field (which is never a good idea and never, ever encouraged) and sprinted throughout the outfield taking selfies on his phone as he did so. While he did no more damage than disrupt the Diamondbacks game against the Cubs, it is always is scary for players when a fan decides to get on the field and potentially cause problems.

7/17/14: No one saw this coming just 10 days ago. Diamondbacks catcher Miguel Montero has added 'All-Star' to his resume. While Montero has had a solid year, he got the nod because St. Louis Cardinals' catcher, Yadier Molina, tore a ligament in his thumb while sliding and is out eight to 12 months. The addition of Montero meant the D'backs had two representatives in Minneapolis, as the stellar Paul Goldschmidt was a shoo-in candidate. While it was a tough break for the Cardinals and Molina, congratulations to Montero on his selection to represent Arizona in the Mid-Summer Classic.

7/10/14: The Diamondbacks are getting a jump on their soon to be firesale of veterans who may be useful to another team by trading lefty reliever Joe Thatcher as well as speedy outfielder Tony Campana to the LA Angels for prospects. The Angels have been looking for a left-handed reliever and Thatcher fits that bill. In return, the Diamondbacks received outfielder Zach Broenstein and right-handed pitcher Joey Krehbiel. Borenstein was the Angels minor league player of the year and should get a good look in the big leagues now that he is not behind the Angels crowded outfield. It is not a flashy trade, but the kind that is to be expected from a rebuilding franchise.

7/3/14: Well, this is not cause for celebration, but it is a sign of progress. The Diamonbacks, while they still do not have any realistic chance of making the postseason, have improved enough to pull themselves out of the basement of the NL West, sort of. That's right, they are now tied with the San Diego Padres for last place, but only one game behind the Colorado Rockies for third place. Manager Kirk Gibson may be gone after this season, but not everything can be pinned on him. Arizona management did not do him any favors in terms of personnel in the offseason and the team has had major injuries since day one.

6/26/14: The Diamondbacks are in the beginning of their house-cleaning and that meant the end of the line for J.J. Putz, who was designated for assignment last week. Expect more departures in the near future as new head man Tony LaRussa tries to resurrect the franchise. There is also internal disagreement about the return of slugger Mark Trumbo. Trumbo has been out for two months with a fractured foot. He says that he is 'good to go', but the D'Backs are being cautious. They want him to do some more physical activity before he starts a rehab assignment. To make matters more confusing, the front office thinks it may be another month before Trumbo can return.

6/19/14: The Diamondbacks have played better over the last month or two, but their historically slow start continues to haunt them in the standings. Arizona is battling with San Diego to see who can avoid the cellar in the NL West. Arizona has been decent on the road, posting a .500 wining percentage. Unfortunately, they just cannot seem to win often enough at home, where they are eight games to the south side of .500. The turnaround may not happen quickly, or even this year. But with Tony LaRussa now running the show, expect a dramatic improvement at some time, because Tony does not lose.

6/12/14: The Diamondbacks continue to languish in last place in the NL West and they are 15 games behind the Giants, who lead the division. There are a couple things to feel good about, though. The Dodgers are in second and are 9.5 games back, so the Giants are just blowing out everyone this season. Also, the Diamondbacks have a very solid 17-14 record on the road. Unfortunately, they just cannot win at home, where they have only put up 11 wins this season. In other news, the team has decided to stick with closer Addison Reed, even though he has a propensity to give up untimely home runs.

6/6/14: Another week and another round of bad news for the Diamondbacks. Left fielder Mark Trumbo fractured his foot in April and was expected to miss six weeks. That timeframe was a bit too optimistic as the D'backs are targeting the third week in June for his return. Trumbo's rehab seemed to be going well at the outset, but to date, he is only hitting balls off of a tee. Trumbo was expected to provide power for the team after acquiring him from the Angels. While this is not manager Kirk Gibson's fault, one can only wonder how long new boss Tony LaRussa will stick with Gibson.

5/29/14: Tony LaRussa is back in the big leagues. The Arizona Diamondbacks hired LaRussa to take control of their baseball operations and turn the team around. LaRussa is among the winningest managers of all time, having last been in uniform as the skipper of the St. Louis Cardinals for their magical 2011 World Series title. Of course, the first team the D'backs faced after hiring LaRussa was the Cardinals, who swept Arizona. Cards' pitcher Adam Wainwright threw one of the best games of his career, facing only 28 batters and allowing only one hit in a complete game shutout.

5/22/14: It is tough to discuss the Arizona Diamondbacks without thinking of what may have been. The team has been beset by major injuries, most notably to their ace. The good news is that the team is improving. They seem to have accepted their losses and are moving on. The bright spot is that they are playing pretty well on the road. They have a winning record away from Chase and look like a team that can make life miserable for the opposition. The bad news is that they have less than five wins at home. There is no way to make the playoffs when the home winning percentage is under 30%.

5/15/14: It had to be only a matter of time before the Diamondbacks broke out of their season long slump, and indeed they are playing much better these days. Indeed, the team is still in last place in the NL West, and in last be a long margin for less than two months into the season. However, we do see signs of life. By holding off the White Sox in Chicago last Saturday, the team assured themselves of a winning record on their three city, nine game road trip. It is their first winning road trip of the year and may signal that the team is finding itself and ready to play as everyone expected.

5/8/14: What started out as an anomaly has grown into a trend. The D'Backs got off to a bad start, and that is okay because many good teams do that. However, well over a month into the season and Arizona has barely reached double digits in wins. It is not the offense that is a problem. It is the pitching. The starting rotation has been among the worst in the majors, and the loss of their ace for the season just made it worse. The bullpen has suffered as well. Do not be surprised if the team makes a change in coaching this season, or starts trading away key players.

5/1/14: The Houston Astros may be considered the worst team in the Majors this season, but, unfortunately, the Diamondbacks are giving them a run for their money. Arizona continues to struggle mightily, and are the only team with single digit wins (in the NL West) through four weeks of the season. Naturally, that leads to speculation on the future of manager Kirk Gibson and GM Kevin Towers. The D'Back players are quick to their defense. The players take the normal defense of 'they don't play the game for us'. However, if things do not turn around soon, the players will find themselves with new leadership.

4/24/14: Congratulations to the Diamondbacks, as they finally earned their first win of the season against L.A. Dodgers, after six tries. L.A. reliever Chris Withrow threw a wild pitch on an intentional walk to Martin Prado in the top of the ninth. The Dodgers tied it up in the bottom of the frame, but the D'backs scored the winning run in the 12th inning. Trevor Cahill closed out the game with a perfect 12th and earned his first career save. Arizona has done more than struggle this season and owns the worst record in the league with only five wins.

4/17/14: Even casual baseball fans have to be wondering what is going on in Arizona these days. It is true that the team has had a few major injuries so far, but the team has won less than five games and the season is two weeks old. The latest losses were at the hands of the rival L.A. Dodgers, who took all three games over last weekend. Add to that the two game sweep in Australia, and the D'Backs are 0-5 against the Dodgers this season. The team is going to have to find a way to improve, and quickly, or manager Kirk Gibson will find himself unemployed very soon.

4/10/14: It has been a rough first week of the season for the D'Backs. After losing both games in Australia to the L.A. Dodgers, the team looked to get back on track back on U.S. soil. Unfortunately, they have only won one game in North America so far this season. While the team can score runs (they rank 5th in all of MLB), they are not performing well otherwise. They are 14th in batting average, 20th in on base percentage, and 17th in slugging percentage. The pitching staff struggled in the first week and is in the bottom third of the major pitching categories. That being said, there are still more 150 games left to play, and this team is too good to continue on this path.

4/3/14: While the National League Central teams played small ball on Opening Day, combining for a grand total of four runs between five teams, the Diamondbacks and Giants opened the season with a virtual slugfest. The teams combined for 17 runs and 30 hits as the Diamondbacks got their third loss of the season (0-3) by a score of 9-8. Arizona, of course, actually started their regular season a couple weeks ago in a two game series in Australia against the L.A. Dodger. They were swept in that series. But it is a long season and the D'Backs will regroup and find their groove.

3/27/14: The Arizona Diamondbacks, along with the rival Los Angeles Dodgers, kicked off the 2014 Major League Baseball regular season with a two game series in Sydney, Australia last weekend. While the rest of MLB is back in Arizona or Florida for spring training, these two teams met in an attempt to grow the game internationally. It was a rough weekend for Arizona. Ignoring the roughly 50 hours of travel roundtrip, the D'Backs dropped both games. Dodgers' ace Clayton Kershaw overpowered the Arizona lineup in game one. The Diamondbacks made a nice late effort to rally in the ninth inning of game two, but came up short, losing 7-6.

3/20/14: It is commonly agreed upon that if the D'Backs are going to make a run at the ultra-rich Dodgers, then they would have to be at full capacity all season. Well, this is a blow. Even before the season starts, which for Arizona and L.A. was in Australia this week, staff ace Patrick Corbin was diagnosed with 'damage to the ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow". A damaged UCL usually means Tommy John surgery to repair the injury. That would mean that Corbin would probably miss all of the 2014 campaign, and even part of 2015. Here's hoping that is it not too bad and he can come back this season.

3/13/14: Well, isn't that just the way. The Diamondbacks signed starting pitcher Bronson Arroyo in the offseason, and Arroyo sold himself on his durability. Actually, his durability is almost legendary. It has been widely assumed for several years that Arroyo was good for 200 innings a year. He just does not get hurt or sick, and he tends to go deep into games. So of course it would come up in his first spring training with the D'Backs that he has a bulging disk in his back. He has been scratched from starts. This may be just a minor thing, or it could be that his 37 year old body is starting to wear down.

3/6/14: The Diamondbacks will probably have to get some good production out of veteran Cody Ross this season if they are going to compete with the Dodgers and their money. Ross' 2013 season ended early when he sustained a fracture and dislocation of his right hip. He began running again recently and may only be a week out from making his spring training debut. He probably will not be on the squad that goes to Australia on March 22-23 to open the season against the Dodgers, though that may not be a bad thing - he will not have to spend days on flights there and back.

2/27/14: Some players look back fondly on times when they were with other teams, and some are just happy the time is over. Relief pitcher Heath Bell seems happy that his time in the desert is over and that he is now pitching for the Tampa Bay Rays. Bell had a good career going in San Diego as a closer then went to the Marlins. He struggled, but then again, so did the Marlins. He was traded to the D'Backs after the 2012 season and did not fare any better with Arizona. He was pulled from the closer role and finished with an ERA over 4.0 in just 65.7 innings. Arizona traded him to the Rays and Bell maintains that his style just did not work with the D'Backs style. That happens at times and it was probably best that both sides move on.

2/20/14: The Diamondbacks found two interesting options for shortstop last season in Chris Owings and Didi Gregorius. Both showed real potential as rookies and they are set to compete for the full time starting position in spring training. From the team's vantage point, it really does not matter who gets the job, as long as one of them builds on his success from last season. Of course, shortstop is a premium position that carries a lot of responsibilities. Too bad it is not an art contest, then there would be a hands down winner in Didi Gregorius.

2/13/14: The Diamondbacks were passed over by Japanese star pitcher Marahiro Tanaka, who selected the New York Yankees. Most reports indicated that the D'backs did not have much of a chance of landing Tanaka, and those reports were proven correct. Arizona still needed rotation help and they have found it stateside by signing veteran Bronson Arroyo to a two year deal with an option for a third. Arroyo has been about as durable as they come for the past several years. He is not a flashy pitcher, but he does eat innings and is pretty consistent - he as finished with ERA between 3.74 and 3.88 with stikeouts in the 120's for each of the past five years.

2/6/14: The Diamondbacks are officially going forward with much of the braintrust they have had for the past few years, though that has been known for a while. The team extended the contracts for general manager Kevin Towers and manager Kirk Gibson for beyond the 2014 season. While that does not guarantee that either will be with the team next season or even next week, but the extensions ensure that neither is a lame duck this season. The D'backs also avoided arbitration with Gerardo Parra by agreeing to a one year $4.85 million contract for the 2014 season.

1/30/14: Arizona made the push to sign Japanese league star Marahiro Tanaka as a starting pitcher, and many sources believe they were in the mix up until the end (other sources say that the D'backs never had a chance and that Tanaka wanted to play in L.A. or New York). Tanaka chose the Yankees on a seven year, $155 million deal that has an opt out after the fourth season. Meanwhile, the D'backs signed Shelly Duncan to minor league contract. Duncan is the son of Dave Duncan, who now serves as an assistant to GM Kevin Towers. Dave Duncan, as many will recall, was the pitching coach for Tony LaRussa for decades and helped develop the Cardinals seemingly endless supply of quality pitchers.

1/23/14: If D'Backs fans are scared, they have good reason to be. Arizona seems to be trying to keep up with the Joneses (read: the Dodgers). In the long view, that is fine and admirable. In the short term, that is a mistake. The Dodgers can spend at will on players and just extended ace pitcher Clayton Kershaw for seven years and $215 million. Arizona does not have that deep of pockets, so they need to follow the Rays method of drafting and developing stars on a budget. Arizona is in the Tanaka sweepstakes, but probably does not have a great chance of landing the Japanese superstar. And that could break the budget.

1/16/14: The Diamondbacks may or may not have interest in Japanese star Masahiro Tanaka, depending on who you ask. But there is agreement that the D'Backs could use him. Tanaka has never played professionally outside of Japan, but he is THE ace pitcher over there. Some scouts believe he is better than Yu Darvish of the Texas Rangers. He is also playoff-tested and only 25 years old. He has the chance to be the next great pitcher. Arizona would benefit from signing him both in the standings and the seats. The one problem - he reportedly wants to play in either Los Angeles, New York or Boston.

1/9/14: Relief pitcher J.J. Putz had a decent 2013 with a 2.36 ERA in 34 innings of work, and that is generally worthy of keeping a guy around. However, he is owed $7 million on his deal this season and the D'Backs just acquired Addison Reed. That is leading to speculation that Arizona may try to trade Putz. They may have to take an equal amount in salary back, but it is better to have a $7 million player who plays regularly than pay the same for a guy that averages less than one inning every five games. If Putz is not moved, then he will probably set up for Reed.

1/2/14: The Diamondbacks have a solid franchise and good roster heading into the 2014. Arizona apparently feels that they are close to being able to catch the Dodgers, so they have made several risky moves for short term gain, possibly at the expense of the long-term health of the franchise. The D'Backs traded away their top pitching prospect Tyler Skaggs to get slugger Mark Trumbo. They also sent third base prospect Matt Davidson to the Chicago White Sox for closer Addison Reed. It is all just speculation now, but if the moves pay off this season, then they will pay off for Arizona.

12/26/13: It is well accepted that the Dodgers are the class of the NL West, for, if no other reason, they can simply outspend their rivals. That means that all General Managers not under the Dodgers employ must work even harder to be competitive. The D'Backs have been very busy this offseason, but the question is if they have done enough to close the gap. Arizona's biggest move is bringing in Mark Trumbo, the first baseman and slugger, to give the team some extra offensive pop. The downside is that the trade cost them their top prospect in Tyler Skaggs. Hopefully, it will work out for the D'Backs this season.

12/19/13: The Arizona Diamondbacks were in probably the biggest trade of the Winter Meetings in Orlando last week. The D'Backs had identified middle of the lineup protection for Paul Goldschmidt as their biggest priority and got it in a three way trade with the Anaheim Angels and Chicago White Sox. Arizona picked up Mark Trumbo for his bat. However, they did send away star prospect starting pitcher Tyler Skaggs in the deal. Arizona has some pitching depth, so this is probably a trade that works out for them as they try to catch up with the deep pockets of the L.A. Dodgers.

12/12/13: The D'Backs had to feel pretty good about landing free agent outfielder Carlos Beltran when they made their offer. Beltran, however, wanted to play for the Yankees and actually took less money from the Yankees (and higher taxes and cost of living) rather than accept the Arizona offer. With Beltran off the table, the team has changed their search and are reportedly interested in Angels' slugger Mark Trumbo. The D'Backs have a surplus of young starting pitching and may put together a package to get another bat in the lineup. There is not power left on the free agent market so a trade may be the best route.

12/5/13: Arizona is said to be working on a deal with pitcher Daniel Hudson. Hudson may not be a household name, but that is likely due to a few major injuries. He has made just nine starts since the beginning of the 2012 season, and will likely miss the majority of the 2014 season while recover from his second Tommy John surgery in two years. Clearly the D'Backs think they have something here if they are willing to put a guy under contract that cannot play for close to another year, especially since they have the option of getting rid of him this winter by declining to tender a contract.

11/28/13: Arizona manager Kirk Gibson continues to fire verbal jabs at everyone and promote his own team. In the most recent outburst, Gibson proclaimed that the D'backs are the best 'at doing the right thing'. That may be a thinly veiled shot at the Dodgers, who do not appear to know they have a rivalry with Arizona. To Gibson's credit, his players are very involved in social programs and several players went to Australia for a goodwill tour, including a few star players. Those are wonderful actions, though the Dodgers may not care until Arizona proves they are the better team.

11/21/13: The Diamondbacks may not have made the playoffs this season, but they did get (close to) a nice award. First baseman Paul Goldschmidt finished second in the National League MVP voting, losing out to Pittsburgh Pirates' outfielder Andrew McCutchen. Top contender Yadier Molina (catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals) finished third as his votes were split with fellow Cardinal infielder Matt Carpenter. Without Goldschmidt, the D'backs would not have had a chance for a playoff spot, but with him they were competitive until the end of the season. With a few more pieces, Arizona could make a return to the playoffs next season.

11/14/13: There is an interesting rivalry building up in the NL West, though right now it looks like only one team is active in that rivalry. The D'back's owner made the comment that the team owes the Dodgers some payback for last season. The Dodgers came from way back to win and dominate the division. They clinched on Arizona's homefield and celebrated by swimming in the stadium pool. The Diamondbacks are still sore about the situation and want payback. Arizona has a long way to go to catch the Dodgers and the divide could get a lot wider if L.A. goes after top talent in free agency.

11/7/13: Arizona lost a coach and special assistant this week in Brad Ausmus. Ausmus was name the successor of Jim Leyland as the manager of the Detroit Tigers. Ausmus played for the organization in 1996 and again in 2000-2001. He is the latest in a trend of hiring young, first time managers who once played for the team they are managing now - presumably because they know the organization and can relate to the players. Others on this list are Robin Ventura with the Chicago White Sox and Mike Matheny of the St. Louis Cardinals - who just led his team to the NL Pennant and a World Series appearance.

10/31/13: 10/31/13: Kirk Gibson's name has been mentioned a lot as a successor to Jim Leyland in Detroit. Perhaps if it was a year later, then it could be taken more seriously. Gibson still has a year left on his contract as manager of the Diamondbacks, and the team decided to keep him on after they faltered in midseason this year. There is always the chance that the Tigers could buy out the remainder of Gibson's contract, though that seems unlikely. Gibson is a highly regarded former Tigers' player, and may be looking for work next year, though.

10/24/13: It is not too early to start looking forward to 2014, and that means getting excited about rookies that have never or just barely played at the major league level. For Arizona, that means 22 year old shortstop Chris Owings. Owings has been stuck at AAA Reno for the past couple of years but was called up late this season. In 17 games, he sported a respectable .295/.380/.386 line that included two stolen bases and four doubles. He is a good defender that can hit, which makes him a better bet than incumbent Didi Gregorious. That being said, Gregoroious is a tremendous artist, literally, as shown by his Batman versus Kane rendering.

10/17/13: Arizona missed the playoffs this season and it was a combination of a mid-season collapse and the rise of the L.A. Dodgers. Manager Kirk Gibson avoided the axe, but his coaches are not as fortunate. In more front office news, GM Kevin Towers, who also avoided being fired, has been forced to clarify his comments about wanting to throw baseballs into the Dodgers dugout. Towers says he was angry that there was no retaliation for Dodgers throwing at D'Back hitters, and so forth. We can all assume that Towers will be rooting for the Cardinals in the NLCS.

10/10/13: For 67 days, which is over two months for those scoring at home, the Arizona Diamondbacks had first place in the NL West. Today, rather than face the Atlanta Braves in the Divisional Round of the National League playoffs, the team on the proverbial golf course while the rival L.A. Dodgers are pursuing the World Series. The D'Backs are the closest team to L.A. in terms of talent, but how do they get better in the offseason so they can compete? Arizona seems content to develop their own players in a long game rather than pursue high priced free agents who do not have a great record of being worth the money.

10/3/13: The Arizona Diamondbacks finished out the 2013 regular season with a win over the Washington Nationals. That was good, and it got the team to 81-81 on the season. However, it was not nearly good enough to make it to the postseason, so it is now time to get the golf clubs out. Several question remain, such as if Kirk Gibson will remain as manager of if the team will find someone else for next year. One thing that is certain is that the Dodgers have asserted themselves as the class of the NL West, so every other team, including Arizona, must get busy in the offseason to compete next year.

9/26/13: The Diamondbacks and their supporters were not happy with the L.A. Dodgers last week. First for winning the NL West. Second for clinching the division on their field. And third for celebrating by swimming in the pool in the stands. Arizona at one time had a 9.5 game lead on the Dodgers. Two and a half months later and it is the D'Backs that are watching from the sideline. Whether the celebration was over the top or not is up to debate and personal opinion. The real fact is that Arizona had their chance to take control of the division in mid-season and let it slip through their fingers.

9/19/13: Though they are not mathematically eliminated from the wildcard spot, time is running out and the Diamondbacks are not playing their best ball of the season. That is a recipe for looking ahead to next year. And that could be interesting because the D'backs have arguably the best pitching prospect in the majors with Archie Bradley. Bradley, the number 7 overall pick in the 2011 draft, has taken advantage of his time in the minors to develop into a pitcher that some are comparing to Justin Verlander. No one expects him to be that good right away, but it is a great counter to the Dodgers in the NL West for the future.

9/12/13: The D'backs have not had a particularly bad season, they are still over .500 as the season comes to a close. They had a chance to take ownership of the NL West and let that slip through their fingers. Now they sit 12 games behind the Dodgers and likely out of the playoffs. That all makes one wonder if the team will retain manager Kirk Gibson for 2014. Arizona seems to have most of the pieces to be a contender and had a great first half. It is the second half of the season which is worrisome. The team may well elect to find a more experienced MLB manager to guide this team next season.

9/4/13: The number 19 should ring in the ears of the Diamondbacks and their fans. Two months ago, the D'Backs had a 9.5 game lead on the L.A. Dodgers. They wasted their chance to put them away. Now the Dodgers have a 9.5 game lead on Arizona. A remarkable 19 game turnaround in just two months. That number could change by the end of the year. But the fact is that the Diamondbacks are now playing to get a wild card spot rather than competing for the division title. The team is six games out of the second spot, and will have to overcome either Cincinnati or St. Louis - while still keeping Washington at bay - to get to the postseason.

8/29/13: The D'backs have a steep climb ahead of them to make the playoffs. They are seven games out of the second playoff spot, so they have to keep building up wins and hope that someone ahead of them falls. They made it even tougher on themselves by getting into an 18 inning, seven hour marathon game with the Phillies last Saturday. The good news is that the D'backs won the game. The bad news is they took a few injuries and depleted their bullpen. Now would be a pretty good time for a couple complete games by the starting rotation.

8/22/13: The National League MVP probably should go to Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina. But if there is one other player who is worthy of consideration, it is Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. Just look at his performance against Baltimore as a microcosm of his season. Baltimore led the game by one in the ninth inning when Goldschmidt belted a game tying home run. Then he followed it up with a walk-off home run in the 11th inning. Yadi probably should win the MVP, but the D'Backs would not be anywhere near striking distance of a playoff spot if not for PG.

8/15/13: Arizona is the only NL West team that still has an outside shot at catching the Dodgers. The D'Backs are 4.5 games back, which is not insurmountable with six weeks left. The problem is that the Dodgers have been on fire for the past month and moved from worst to first in that span. Arizona is also in the hunt for the wild card. St. Louis currently leads WC standings and is 6.5 games up on Arizona. Cincinnati has the second WC right now, but is only 4.5 games ahead. The Reds and Cardinals have struggled recently, so there is still life in the desert.

8/8/13: The D'Backs now sit 3.5 games behind the L.A. Dodgers - who are easily the hottest team in baseball over the past month. All is not lost, but it will be a tough climb to make the playoffs. One good step was Randall Delgado picking up his first career complete game shutout against the lowly San Diego Padres. He also should buy outfielder Gerardo Parra something nice for the homerun he stole to preserve Delgado's gem. Parra may well be the best defensive outfielder in the game. It was not the first, nor the last time he has made a great catch.

8/1/13: Heading into August, it looks like the D'Backs are the only team that can catch the surging L.A. Dodgers. L.A. has been on a tear since getting several of their players back from injury. The Diamondbacks, for their part, have simply been playing good (not great) as they have all year. That was fine in the first half of the season, but now they need to show they can pitch and hit in the clutch. Arizona has been in the middle of a lot of trade talks in recent weeks - especially for starting pitching - and it will be interesting to see what they are willing to pay in order to make a run at the playoffs this season.

7/25/13: In a blatent attempt to try to get the fans to the stadium, the Arizona Diamondbacks have introduced what may be the most bizarre mascot of all time: Luchador. Luchador appears to be a caped and hooded Mexican wrestler, apparently inspired by the recent popularity of last year's Lucha Libra mask, then Lucha Libra wrestling match. All of which may have been inspired by the film Nacho Libre. It's not the caped and masked man which is so odd, but rather using a professional of another sport to promote your own sport which seems odd. Would it not be strange to see a football team have a basketball player as their mascot?

7/18/13: The NL West is getting very interesting. The L.A. Dodgers, left for dead only a month ago, now occupy the number two spot in the division - trailing the Arizona Diamondbacks by 2.5 games at the All-Star Break. Arizona is a very good team, and has the talent to win the division. However, they do need some help on the mound. They are rumored to be interested in the Chicago Cubs Matt Garza, and will probably pull the trigger to get him if they can. Should they be able to add some pitching, then this could be a great division race down the stretch.

7/11/13: Arizona is currently leading the wild NL West by 4.5 games. All teams are still in the midst, as the cellar-dwelling Padres are only 6.5 games out halfway through the season. Since no one is stepping up as the dominant force, it may take a big deal to move the needle here. The D'Backs and Brewers are reportedly discussing a trade that would send Yovani Gallardo and Francisco Rodriguez to Arizona. The D'Backs would probably pay a fortune for the two pitchers, including their top pitching prospect Tyler Scraggs. But if it means locking down the division and a chance to play for the Worlds Series, then it is probably worthwhile.

7/4/13: There has been a lot of talk show chatter about the Dodgers this week, mostly that they can still win the division. Not many teams in last place at the half way mark win the division, though the Dodgers are only 8.5 games back and are getting healthier. That means nothing to the Diamondbacks. From top to bottom, Arizona is the best managed and talented team. They may not have a $230 million payroll - rather they did it the right way. Come October, the D'backs will likely be still playing, while the rest of the NL West is wondering how they did that.

6/27/13: Believe it or not, but the D'backs have a 3 game lead in the NL West as the All-Star Break nears. Of course everyone in the media wanted the Dodgers and Giants to battle it out. The Dodgers (and their $230 million payroll) have been decimated by injuries and are in last place. The Giants seem to have forgotten how to pitch this season. So opportunity knocked and the D'backs answered the door. It will be interesting to see if Arizona adds anyone at the trade deadline as they push for a playoff spot. Good news for Diamondback fans: the team should be dangerous in the playoffs.

6/20/13: The Diamondbacks and the Dodgers got into a bit of a brawl after a barrage of hits batsmen. The benches emptied and a few punches were thrown. But the real damage was that pitches were coming at batters' heads. MLB handed down the expected suspensions on Friday. Arizona pitcher Ian Kennedy received the biggest ban, a total of ten games. However, that really only means he will miss two starts. Eric Henske received five games for his part in the altercation. Both Kennedy and Henske are appealing their punishments, so they are eligible to play until the appeals process is exhausted.

6/13/13: One reason the D'Backs are in first place in the NL West is Didi Gregorius. The young shortstop was acquired in the offseason in a three team trade that sent Arizona's top pitching prospect Trevor Bauer away. Bauer was the third overall pick in the 2011 draft, and most experts scoffed at the trade. But Didi has been outstanding so far. His is batting well over 300, has 16 extra base hits, and has been a gem defensively. Most scouts missed on the guy, saying he could not hit. But the D'Backs are laughing now - all the way to the NL West title.

6/6/13: The Diamondbacks were trying to do something they had not done much of over the past few years which is to win at Wrigley Field! They have played 11 games at this park in the past and had lost 10 of them. After waiting a little over 2 hours due to the rain delay the Diamondbacks' G. Parra started off the game. On a 1-0 pitch from Cubs, Parra hit a home-run to the right-center field. It was his fourth lead-off home run this season. The Cubs got a few good plays in but it just wasn't good enough. Scott Hairston had his 100th career homer which broke the Cubs five game winning streak. It was a great day for the Diamondbacks!

Patrick Corbin pitched well enough to earn his fourth victory of the season and helped lead the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 7-4 victory over the Washington Nationals on Sunday afternoon. Corbin lasted seven innings, surrendering two earned runs on four hits and two walks. He also added seven strikeouts over the course of his 88 pitches to lower his season earned run average to 3.41 thus far. Offensively for Arizona, Paul Goldschmidt, Aaron Hill, Justin Hill and Miguel Montero all drove in runs in the winning effort. While the team managed just six hits on the day, they got them when they counted as they were a strong 3-7 with runners in scoring position.

Starter Patrick Corbin was strong on Tuesday night as he propelled the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 10-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Corbin pitched six strong innings, surrendering two earned runs on six hits and three walks. He also added seven strikeouts over the course of his 91 pitches, but failed to earn the victory as that was left to the bullpen. Offensively, Stephen Drew and Chris Johnson each went deep, with Johnson leaving the yard twice for his 12th and 13th home runs of the year thus far. Paul Goldschmidt and Miguel Montero each also had RBI's in the winning effort.

RA Dickey picked up his NL-leading 14th win of the season as the New York Mets defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks by the score of 5-1 on Sunday. Joe Saunders got the ball for Arizona and lasted a solid seven innings, surrendering four earned runs on eight hits and three walks. He also struck out five Mets batters over the course of his 105 pitch outing en route to his seventh loss of the year. Arizona's lone run batted in of the game came off the bat of Paul Goldschmidt, his 48th of the year thus far. Overall, however, the D'backs managed just four hits on the day and were 1-6 with runners in scoring position.

Josh Collmenter pitched well enough to earn his second victory of the year thus far as he propelled the Arizona Diamondbacks to an 8-2 victory over the Houston Astros on Sunday afternoon. Collmenter pitched six solid innings, allowing just two earned runs on seven hits and a walk. He also added four strikeouts over the course of his 107 pitch day. Jason Kubel and Chris Young each went deep for the D'backs, while Miguel Montero and Geraldo Parra each also added runs batted in. The team also hit well with runners on base - they managed an impressive 3-5 with runners in scoring position in the victory.

5/2/12 - Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher, Wade Miley was voted NL Rookie of the Month for April. Miley led all National League rookie pitchers with a 3-0 record and a 1.29 ERA in 21 innings. Miley was originally the team's long reliever, but ended up in the starting rotation because of Daniel Hudson's right shoulder injury. In two starts, Miley is 2-0 with 13 strikeouts in 12 and 1/3 innings. His ERA is an impressive 0.00 as he has allowed no earned runs in both his starts. In one of his starts, Miley also took a no-hitter into the sixth inning earlier in the month. This was Miley's first career monthly award.

Joe Saunders gave the Arizona Diamondbacks another strong start on Wednesday night, but unfortunately his effort was not enough to earn the 13-12 D'backs a victory against the Washington Nationals. Saunders allowed two earned runs through 6.1 innings, allowing seven hits and surrendering two walks over 94 pitches. J.J. Putz came in for the ninth and surrendered two earned runs on a home run by Ian Desmond that also scored rookie Bryce Harper. This was Putz's second blown save of the season, inflating his earned run average to 6.48 on the year. Justin Upton added a home run for Arizona in the 5-4 loss.

The Arizona Diamondbacks took two of the first three games in a series against the Miami Marlins to move to an even 11-11 on the season. Joe Saunders improved to 2-1 in 2012 in Friday's 5-0 victory and has gotten off to a smoldering start, posting a 0.90 earned run average through four starts. Saunders went the distance, giving up only three hits in nine innings while striking out four. Youngster Patrick Corbin will make his first career major league start against the Marlins in the fourth and final game of the series. He will face off against starter Mark Buehrle, who has gotten off to a 1-3 start for the Marlins on the season.

In what has proven to be a tough division so far, the Arizona Diamondbacks currently sit at 9-8 in the N.L. West and are 4 games behind the division- leading Los Angeles Dodgers. The team got some bad news last week when it learned that star outfielder Chris Young would be sidelined with a shoulder injury for at least a few weeks. To combat the injury, the team called up top prospect A.J. Pollock, a first -round draft pick in 2009. Pollock was ranked by 'Baseball America' as one of the top five prospects in the Diamondbacks farm system prior to the season. The team will look to Pollock to help fill the void while Young recovers.

Paced by a strong start from young catcher Miguel Montero, the Arizona Diamonbacks begin the 2012 season with a perfect 3-0 record after sweeping the San Francisco Giants in their opening series. While strong performances from Chris Young and Aaron Hill have also helped the D'backs score 17 runs in their first three games, winning efforts from starters Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson have helped keep games tight to get the ball to veteran closer J.J. Putz, who already has two saves on the young season. The team will face the 1-3 San Diego Padres in a three-game series this week.

Arizona Diamondbacks Tickets - Team History

Arizona Diamondbacks tickets allow fans the opportunity to see one of baseball's youngest franchises play their way into the history books. The Diamondbacks, established as an expansion team in 1998, amazingly have already won one World Series championships and NL pennants during their short existence. The club is the fastest expansion team in the majors to have ever won a series. The D-backs play at Chase Field in downtown Phoenix. Grab some Diamondbacks tickets and enjoy a game this season!

Arizona Diamondbacks Tickets - Season Info

The Arizona Diamondbacks are definitely a team undergoing a transition. After a disappointing finish in 2010 the Diamondbacks come into the 2011 campaign with new GM Kevin Towers. Towers plans on centering his focus on a strong rotation led by Daniel Hudson and Ian Kennedy, as well as solid position play.

Arizona Diamondbacks Tickets - Ticket Information

Arizona Diamondbacks tickets ensure that fans see the Diamondbacks playing top contenders throughout the entire MLB season. The Diamondbacks have their work cut out for them in a competitive National League West. With matchups with great teams like the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres and non-divisional meetings with the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs throughout the season, the Diamondbacks will have plenty of opportunity to test themselves against top talent in 2011. Buy your tickets now and don't miss the action!

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April 04, 2013

NL West Teams Try Tracking Down the Giants

2013 National League West Tickets NL West Standings MLB Opening Day News - National League West MLB 2013 Preview - The NL West The National League West was competitive right until the wire in 2012, and that test proved to benefit the division champ and eventual World Series winning San Francisco Giants. The Giants were…

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2013 National League West Tickets NL West Standings MLB Opening Day News - National League West MLB 2013 Preview - The NL West The National League West was competitive right until the wire in 2012, an…